St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-05-02
IN THE IRON REGION.
The Wonderful Development of the Mines
of Michigan, Wisconsin and
Minnesota.
4 Short History of One of the Richest
Mineral Districts Known to Civ
ilized Man.
Large Quantities of Ore Still BEING
Quarried in the Wonderful
Gogebic Range.
Estimated Product of the Marquette,
Menominee, Gogebic and Min
nesota Ranges.
Special to the Globe.

peninsula of the state of Michigan is one of
;he richest mineral districts in the world
and. taking into consideration the number
Of different minerals and metals found
within its borders and their value to the
arts and manufactures, the Lake Superior
mineral bearing district is probably the
richest in the world. Recent explorations
and developments have shown that the
south and north shores of the great inland
sea, first explored is 1871, are rich in
mineral wealth along nearly their whole
stretch 1t is within the memory of men
now living when Lake Superior was almost
an unknown body of water, and it. is only
forty two years ago since the first mine of
copper was opened in Ontonagon
county, Michigan During the forty
years that have since elapsed the copper
mining industry has grown 10 great magni
tude, and iron mines of almost fabulous
riches and extent have been discovered ard
opened. The metals OF the upper PENN
sula are copper, iron, gold, silver, nickel,
anthony. lead, zinc, chromium. manganese
and cobalt. The first four named are
mined and the others have been found in
considerable quantities in the copper and
iron region. When the first copper mines
We're being opened in Ontonogon and ke
WeenaW counties the first discovery of
workable deposits of marketable iron ore
was made in Marquette county.
In the summer III 1915 a party
OF three explorers, p. NJ. Everett, S. 4.
Carr and E. 5. Rockwell, found iron ore
at Negaunee. In the succeeding year
few tons of ore were mined there. The
first shipment Of Upper Peninsula iron ore
was made in 1S4S by \. l.. Crawford, pro-
prietor of furnaces at Newcastle, Pa. The
ore was found To be tirst-clasS in every re-
spect. In 1852 seventy-fve tons of ore
from the Jackson mine We're sent to Sharon,
Pa. where it was smelted. In 1855 the
800" canal was nearing completion, and
water communication was bad with the
lower lakes. In that year the Jackson and
Cleveland mines begun shipping ore by
lake. The ore was hauled over rough
wagon roads by teams to Marquette, some
twelve miles from the mines. During the
four years preceding 1888, when
A RAILROAD LINE
was built from Marquette to Negaunee and
lShbeming nearly 90 900 tons of ore had
been smelted at the Forest Collins and
Marquette FORCES. The entire product of
the district in 1858 was only 1856 tons,
although the Lake Superior mine, now the
larseSt iron mine i'll the world, begun ship
ping that year. In 1859 the three mines
shipped 6S. S32 tons of ore. In 1867 the
Lake Angelina mine was added to the list,
and in 1865 the Humboldt From 1868
until the present day new mines have been
opened every year. The shipments from
the mines of the district since 1870 have.
been as follows: In 1870, $50, $40 tons: in
1871, 719, COZ tons, in 1872, 800, 901 tons:
1,l68, 452 tons in 1878; $50, 557 tons in 1874;
in in,
1876; 1,0l4,6S7 tons in 1887;
1,lO1, 40 tons in 1873; 1874, 500 tons
in 1879; 1855, 723 tons in 1880; 1926, els
tons: in 1881; 2,947, 392 tons in 1892; o.
352, 2SS tons in 1888; 2,51S 04S tons in
1854; 2, 427 337 tons in 1885, and 3, 562 tons
iii 1856. This makes the total output of
ore from the Lake Superior district, not in
Guiding over a million tons Smelted by local
furnaces, 81. 100, 702 tons from 1868 to 1856,
inclusive. The mines which have shipped
over 1000, 600 tons since their opening and
their products are as follows: Champion.
l,761, 564 tons; Chaplin, 1,340, S22 tons:
Cleveland, 3, 447, ia tons; jackson, 2, 597,-
95S tons; Lake Superior, 3, S62, 222 tons;
Republic, 2537, 16S tons; and York, 1,035,-
OOl tons. The Lake Superior leads the list
of shippers with a total output of nearly
1000 00J tons, and the Cleveland comes a
900 tons of ore mined and shipped since the
mine was first opened thirty-three years
ago. The Chaplin mine at Iron Mountain
made the largest shipments in single year
of any mine in the district. In 1884 it
shipped 302, 0S3 tons of ore. In 1892 the
Lake Superior shipped 296, 504 tons. The
famous Republic mine began shipping in
1872. The first discovery of iron ore in
MenOminee county was made by BARLEY
Breen, now of the lower house of the Mich
igan legislature, in 1867. Actual mining
work was not inaugurated until live years
later. when the Milwaukee Iron company
began the
WORK OF DEVELOPING
the Breen and Vulcan mines. In 1873
John l.. Buell. commonly called the father
of the Menominee range, begun work at
the Quinnesec mine. Notwithstanding
that the work done at these miles and
others proved beyond doubt that the Me-
nominee iron range was a valuable one, the
disastrous panic of rs, which was felt for
several years after in the iron trade, greatly
retarded the development OF the range
1t was not until the fall of 1877, or i've
years after the mines were opened, that
branch of the Chicago d Northwestern
railway was built to the Vulcan mine. In
the next spring it was extended to the
QuiuneSec, which begun shipping that
year. The mines of the range got
out only 10, 900 tons in that year,
out in 1878 they shipped nearly
100000 tons. Last year they sent to mar
ket SS8, $50 tons. The big mines of the
Menominee range are the Chaplin, Ludng-
ton. Norway, Commonwealth ton Wiscon-
sin soiD, Florence (also in wisconsin,,
Vulcan and Iron River. In the ten years
they have been producing the mines of the
Menomonee range have shipped G.24O, 991
of the total of 81, 1870, 702 tons, while the
Marquette range in the thirty years has
shipped %, 376, 1852 tons. In 1854 both the
Vermllion and GOgebic ranges made their
first shipments. The Minnesota Iron
company, operating six mines at Tower.
Mimi, shipped 62. 1874 tons of iron
ere. while the Colby, the pioneer mine of
the GOgebic, sent out one cargo only of
1922 tons. Although the Vermilion range
begun shipping with much better developed
mines than the Gogebic the latter range,
thanks to its proximity to Chicago and Mil
waukee and good railroad facilities, has
outstripped the Vermllion. In 1885 the
Gogebc mines shipped less than 80, 900 tons
of ore, but in 1886 the nineteen shipping
mines of the Gogebic produced 731, TAB
tons of ore. while the Minnesota Iron COM
pany shipped only 304. 396 tons. The work
of developing
THE VERMILLION RANGE
is being just now begun, while within less
than three years from the date of the first
shipment of ore the Gogebic district has
over twenty-five developed mines. Gogebic
mines have been doomed and worked for
all that was in them. The era of develop
ment through which the Gogebic range has
already passed is now being entered on by
Enll .,c.t